Pieces of material are often required to accommodate complex curves and surface irregularities, some of which may or may not be constant. For example, producing an upper for an article of footwear provides a significant challenge in that the required curves and surfaces of the upper may change position and dimension in dynamic motion. Clothing also provides significant challenges due to the complex curves and shapes of various body parts. There are numerous applications beyond clothing and footwear where a piece of material, e.g., a sheet, is required to have a complex shape.
Certain materials, such as solid leather, often lack conformable and flexible qualities to accommodate complex shapes. Historically, to overcome the limitations of making items with relatively unforgiving layered sheets of material, sheets of material have been formed by weaving strips of leather, plant material or textile. Textile and stretch textile may also be used for the purposes of providing conformable and flexible qualities. Materials made in this way provide breathability as well, since the non-solid woven material has ventilation apertures formed by the gaps between the yarns or strips.
In unrestricted woven materials, the strips move freely and shift in relation to each other. The spaces between the strips are therefore variable, and provide conformability and flexibility by shifting alignment in relation to anatomical features, for example, or exerted pressure. Producing such materials can be labor intensive and expensive. Additionally, the edges of woven materials have difficult to solve un-raveling issues when used in cut and sew applications.
Another way to create a flexible, conformable material out of a relatively inflexible starting material is through the interlocking of small individual elements often referred to as links. Links joined together with linear connecting pins, such as those used in metal watchbands, have flexibility along the axis of rotation (pivot point) of the pins. Multiple links threaded together with a connector such as string, wire or elastic can create large flexible expanses of material. Creating linked or beaded material through the process of individually threading each element is time consuming and therefore not cost effective for mass production purposes.
It would be desirable to provide a functional material that is ventilated, flexible, conformable, and has adjustable attributes, without the labor and associated cost of threading the individual elements or weaving individual strips.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a piece of material that reduces or overcomes some or all of the difficulties inherent in prior known devices. Particular objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, that is, those who are knowledgeable or experienced in this field of technology, in view of the following disclosure of the invention and detailed description of certain preferred embodiments.